Broderick Lloyd Laswell says he isn't happy that he's down to 308 pounds after eight months in the Benton County jail. He has filed a federal lawsuit complaining the jail doesn't provide inmates with enough food.

According to the suit, Laswell weighed 413 pounds when he was jailed in September.

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"On several occasions I have started to do some exercising and my vision went blurry and I felt like I was going to pass out," Laswell wrote in his complaint. "About an hour after each meal my stomach starts to hurt and growl. I feel hungry again."

But Laswell then goes on to complain that he undertakes little vigorous activity.

"If we are in a small pod all day (and) do next to nothing for physical exercise, we should not lose weight," the suit says. "The only reason we lost weight in here is because we are literally being starved to death."

The suit also asks that the county be ordered to serve hot meals. The jail has served only cold food for years.

The meals, provided through Aramark Correctional Institution Services, average 3,000 calories a day, jail Capt. Hunter Petray told The Morning News of northwest Arkansas for a story Saturday.

So, to be fair, 3,000 calories a day for a 400lb man would indeed be too little. Would i consider it starvation? Hardly. But i'm sure after what he's used to consuming daily, it would feel that way.

The demand for hot meals is nice, too. I mean, hey, you're in prison. You're being punished for committing a crime. Do you really think you should be entitled to luxuries like a hot meal? You get fed, you get clothed, you aren't waterboarded, you're good to go. It's supposed to be unpleasant. And if the worst of it is you keep getting cold sandwiches instead of hot food, then i think you've got nothing to complain about.

Nine-year-olds at a school in the U.S. state of Georgia brought a broken steak knife, handcuffs and electrical tape to school in a plot to injure their teacher, authorities said on Tuesday.

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"The plan was to handcuff the teacher, put tape over her mouth and hit her over the head with the paperweight and possibly cut her," said Lt. Duane Caswell of Waycross police, adding that some students said the knife was simply there to cut the tape.

"It was a rather elaborate scheme for children of that age," he said.

The students spent a week planning the attack and planned to carry it out on the day they were caught, Caswell said.

Nine pupils in the grade, most of whom were 9 years old, have been disciplined and some were given long-term suspensions, said Theresa Martin, spokeswoman for the Ware County school district in the southeastern part of the state.

I would like to know:
a) what exactly these kids had against the teacher?
b) was there a legitimate reason for their aggression, like she burned them with a lighter as punishment?
c) what about the parents?
d) screw punishment, what about counseling?